


The Weirdest Get-Together

by Maraculate



Series: Moonlighting [1]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Actor!Jeremy, Alternate Universe - Hackers, Alternative Universe - FBI, Breaking Up & Making Up, Crimelord!Michael, FBI!Jenna, Light Angst, Lying To Protect Others, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-14 12:54:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16040882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maraculate/pseuds/Maraculate
Summary: Inspired by writing prompts! I can't find the original so I'm paraphrasing."One day, you find yourself at a store. The criminals have guns to everyone's heads. One of them recognizes you. He screams and realizes that you're a part of your ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend's 'No Hit' list. You go free. Turns out your old flame is a highly dangerous influence in the underworld. Maybe it's time to catch up."





	The Weirdest Get-Together

**Author's Note:**

> I'll probably just write random sequels in one-shot form if I feel like it.

With a gun at Jeremy’s head, he wondered how he ended up in that situation.

 

It probably started when he was born. No, he was just kidding, it was just because he ended up at a convenience store and he faced five guys wearing Oni masks. Blue lips, blue horns, dark caved in eyes, cleft chins, and white skulls. It nearly made the poor twenty three year old shit his pants.

 

The ringing in his eyes started hurting his head. He took short breaths as if breathing too loudly or deeply would end up with a bullet in his head. The grey store seemed to darken with the cocked guns and muffled murmurs.

 

Somehow, he thought back to his old lover, Michael. They dated in high school in senior year and kept in touch after they broke up, but it made Jeremy’s heart sting a bit to think of him. They both agreed to break-up until after college, maybe, since they didn’t want their to be any long-distance pining going on. Michael studied computer science and stuff while Jeremy went on to work in plays and write them. More the former. Michael would be a regret. That was why he thought of him. Jeremy had a premonition that he was going to die in a convenience store.

 

Still, why Michael, though? What exactly made Jeremy think of him, of all people? He loved him still, sure, but with a gun to his head, didn’t he have more prevalent issues?

 

“Please don’t shoot,” Jeremy raised his hands up in surrender.

 

“Wallet.” His voice was muffled and gruff.

 

Jeremy slowly took it out and handed it over. He slapped Jeremy’s hand as he grabbed the wallet. The clerk was also in a similar position, hurriedly pulling out money. Jeremy prayed for the police to show up. He just wanted to go home. God, why did he have to make a stop at this nameless shop? Because he had a craving for Milk Duds? How stupid.

 

Tears were forming in his eyes as he found himself on his knees, his back hunched and his shoulders tense. The gun still pressed firmly to his head. He heard of these guys in Manhattan, but not in Montclair, usually! Weren’t they stopped by now, too? Goddamnit, he just had to stop by his house that day, didn’t he? He just had to make the worst decision of his life. 

 

Anyway, they called themselves the Akumas which was demon in Japanese. Chinese, maybe? One of the two. He felt a bit ashamed for knowing that, but crippling fear quickly drowned out that feeling. Since he could, you know, die, he offered a silent prayer. All he could do, really.

 

A sixth man came in, his face covered in the same mask but red. “How is it going, boys?”

 

“Cameras are down!” One of them shouted. Her voice sounded fake. A modulator? Did they all have modulators?

 

“Only this kid and the clerk here. We have constant eyes on the rows and entrance,” another one answered.

 

“Money’s done. We also got this wallet,” the one with the gun to Jeremy’s head said.

 

Kid? Jeremy was very clearly 23! At least, twenty! He thought of how he lost contact with Michael the last few months. The last thing he texted him was that he hoped he had a good day. Why was his head swimming back to Michael? Why? Any interactions they had were limited and strained, so why were his potentially last thoughts going back to him?

 

“Who is the kid?”

 

“Someone named Jeremiah Heere.”

 

The guy in the red mask convulsed. He let out a shuddering breath, an angry, spluttered noise, and nearly flipped out. Did Jeremy know that guy? He pushed the guy and the gun off of Jeremy’s head. What?

 

“What gives?” The blue masked guy asked, a sneer lacing his tone.

 

“That’s Jeremy Heere! He’s on the No-Hit list! Don’t you know who Marley Apoladamn is?”

 

Michael. That was Michael. It was his nickname on old gaming websites they played together. Jeremy would never forget it. Since when did Michael go by that? 

 

“Marley Ap- you’re fucking with me. I thought he was a joke! Keyser Soze, for example!”

 

“But Keyser Soze was real in that movie, nitwit!” The blue man argued. “Listen, kid… shit, what am I supposed to do? Fuck it, just leave.”

 

The Usual Suspects? Wait, Keyser Soze was like a Devil in that movie. A human devil. He compared Michael Mell to him?

 

“Leave? But we still need to-”

 

“I’d take on the entire police force rather than Marley,” the red masked man said.

 

Jeremy got his wallet back and he looked back to the clerk. He looked terrified. Jeremy gulped and wanted to help him. But how?

 

Time to test his privileges. It was stupid, irrational, and even cocky, but Jeremy had to help.

 

“Let the guy go,” Jeremy demanded.

 

“You have no control-” the guy pointed his gun at Jeremy again.

 

“You would kill me if I didn’t have control. Let him go!” Jeremy’s voice barely shook. The guy looked at him like he was an idiot. Jeremy could tell that much even with the mask on. He probably was stupid, too.

 

Jeremy narrowed his eyes. He didn’t know what fueled him to protect this other person. Empathy? Dreaming of being a hero? Stupidity? All three? The Akuma didn’t react.

 

“We won’t have leverage,” one of them whispered to another. Jeremy’s sensitive ears picked that up.

 

“We’ll use the risky escape,” the red-masked man said. “But you better watch your back.”

 

“What? Boss, we-”

 

“We’re using it, now!” He shouted. The entire store went quiet. Jeremy’s ears started ringing. He just wanted to save the other guy, and it might’ve resulted in them both getting shot. The whole situation was so unlikely that Jeremy had no idea how to react. He at least looked thankful as one of them pointed a gun at the two of them as they all retreated into a bathroom. It was awfully strange, but when the last guy left, the clerk let out an audible sigh of relief.

 

“Hey, uh, want to do me a favor? I have to get to a play rehearsal soon,” Jeremy said. “Could you just say I wasn’t here?”

 

“Deal,” the clerk nodded fervently. “Easy. Yep. Definitely. Yeah.”

 

“Uh, call the police, okay?”

 

“Yeah-p.”

 

“Alright then.”

 

Jeremy’s duty to play was just as strong as Christine’s. She was the only person he kept in active contact with. She was dating some guy named Peter Ka… whatever. Something Russian-sounding. Even though his literal life was threatened, Jeremy had to help prepare for his performance of Waitress. Thank God for Christine’s family’s connections to Broadway! He also had to make plans to meet up with Michael because there was some weird shit going on, and he needed to know why a bunch of armed criminals were  _ terrified  _ of his gaming username.

 

-

 

“Siri, call Michael,” Jeremy said. His phone rang three times and Jeremy nearly gave up, but then someone picked up. 

 

Jeremy’s breath let out some frost. Goddamn, New York was cold at night!

 

He knew Michael lived somewhere in the city, but he never felt comfortable asking him. Like he said before, their interactions were limited. Jeremy was pretty sure Michael didn’t even care for him anymore considering that Jeremy was the only one who started conversations.

 

Now that Jeremy thought about it, he hadn’t even seen Michael since the summer after their first year in college. 

 

“This is Michael’s secretary, Nicole. How may I assist?” She asked. She had a sweet sounding voice.

 

“You man his cellphone?” Jeremy murmured. “Oh, uh, sorry. Um, my name is Jeremy.”

 

“Jeremy…?”

 

“Jeremy Heere. Michael’s old… friend.”

 

“Ah, I see. I’ll put him on in a moment.”

 

Jeremy waited patiently as his phone went silent. Michael must have been doing well for himself if he had a secretary. For that, he was glad, but he was still concerned about this ‘No-Hit’ list. That made Michael very shady, but he had to hear him out.

 

“Jeremy?” The tone was deeper than he expected, but the way he inflected and sighed and stressed syllables was the same.

 

“Michael, I seriously need to talk to you.”

 

“Why? Not that I mind, but we haven’t really caught up in like… forever.”

 

“About four years, but who’s counting?” Jeremy sardonically chuckled. “Anyway, I… this is really important and it’s not appropriate for a phone call.”

 

“How bad?”

 

“Apocalypse of the Damned, Level Fifteen, The Beginning of the End on Nightmare mode,” Jeremy said.

 

Michael actually shuddered. “Okay, if you’re being serious. Where do you want to meet?”

 

“Are you nearby Black Tap? I’m at a cafe nearby. It’ll have a brown sign.”

 

“Give me fifteen minutes.”

 

Michael was there in twelve. He looked good. His face was clean-shaven, his jawline was sharp, and he was in a dark suit that wasn’t too great for the weather, but he still looked sexy. He was wearing contacts and his hair was combed perfectly to the side. His arms also got a lot bigger. He looked perfect compared to Jeremy’s shoddy t-shirt, ripped jeans, converse, and freckled face. 

 

“Hey, Jere,” Michael greeted him softly. “Since when do you call?” He broke out into a small teasing grin. Jeremy patted the table. Michael sat down. The cafe was loud, so Jeremy felt confident about whispering.

 

“I called because this is important. As much as I wish otherwise, this isn’t a catch-up,” Jeremy’s leg vibrated. He remembered the metal pressing against his forehead and his heart stopping multiple times and how every time the gun clinked and got pointed at him or the clerk how-

 

“Jeremy? What is it?” Michael sounded a little annoyed.

 

“Marley Apoladamn.”

 

Michael didn’t freeze up or blink twice. He looked neutral. “What about my old username?”

 

“Michael. The Akumas attacked a convenience store in Montclair I was in.”

 

“Didn’t they get taken down? Shit, are you okay?” Michael’s voice was neutral on the first question, concerned on the second.

 

“I’m not. I had to go to play rehearsal right after. Imagine how nervous I was. Heh.”

 

“Jeremy, what the fuck?” Michael asked.

 

“You what the fuck!” Jeremy raised his voice a bit. “They said that they wouldn’t kill me because I was on your No-Hit list, Michael. I’m the only who knows your old screen name, so the fact that I’m not dead because of your mafia crime syndicate means that I still mean something to you. That really surprised me, believe it or not!”

 

Michael’s breath hitched. He facepalmed and groaned. “Okay. Okay. You’re coming with me.”

 

“Are you going to kill me?” Jeremy tilted his head, his gaze accusatory. “Am I suddenly more trouble than I’m worth? Am I going-”

 

“Jeremy, that’s not-”

 

“-To get hunted down by those same Akumas and get tortured before they blow my brains out? For being your high school sweetheart, you obviously don’t think-”

 

“-You’re not going to be-”

 

“Don’t interrupt me!” Jeremy’s face turned red. “If they didn’t know my name, I could be dead. If they didn’t know my name, that store clerk could’ve died. I had to use leverage I wasn’t sure I had because you decided I was a good warm body for a while! A “No-Hit” list, Michael? How could you even think I mean that much to you when you stopped trying to contact me after our first summer in college? I felt like a fling! My best friend made me feel like a benefit!”

 

“I had to stop talking to you! I was never going to… to… You were never a warm body to me! I loved you wholeheartedly. I didn’t want to break up with you, but I wanted us to be free to meet other people without feeling obligated to a long-distance relationship!”

 

“Okay, stop right there. You could’ve just talked to me, at least. I thought you hated me after I realized that you never started conversations with me anymore,” Jeremy interrupted. “Also, what were you never going to do? Get me caught up with your crime ring? Well, depending on what it is you actually do, you’re probably right, but don’t you ever assume I’m a fucking Mary Jane or Iris West that can’t handle the truth or at least protect your secret unless it is truly fucked up. So, what is it, Michael? Can I really not know the truth?”

 

“It’s not truly fucked up,” Michael answered. “Jeremy, please come with me. I would never hurt or kill you. Please trust me.”

 

“One last time, I’ll trust you? Literally, one last time?” Jeremy asked mockingly. “Why can’t we talk here? Too many witnesses?”

 

“Honestly? Yes!” Michael answered. He took Jeremy’s hand. Jeremy recoiled. “I’m asking you as your best friend and former boyfriend.”

 

“You don’t get to play the best friend card. Not when I had to start every conversation with you these last few years. You never even asked me how I was doing. You never cared about if I had a job, if I had a life outside my dad’s basement, if I had… anything! Talking to you hurt because i thought you didn’t like me. It’s a freaking text, Michael, it’s not that hard!”

 

“You’re right,” Michael admitted. “I can’t say anything besides that I’m sorry.”

 

Jeremy couldn’t help but soften his gaze. He was never one to hold onto anger for too long. Especially with Michael. He still loved the idiot. Whenever he looked at him, his brain rushed back to their many memories. Memories like that were bitter pills to swallow.

 

“I hope you know that… killing me means that my ghost will haunt you forever,” Jeremy said. “If you do, I will curse your name forever and pray you get sent to fucking Hell, no matter our past relationship. I don’t think I’ll survive long enough to make those prayers, but it’s whatevs,” Jeremy stood up. Michael took his hand and squeezed it once. Tightly. 

 

Michael opened up the car for him.

 

“Being gentlemanly before you poison my coke?”

 

“Jeremy, I’m not going to kill your dumb ass.”

 

“Aw, how sweet!” Jeremy’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. “You always had a way with words.”

 

“So did you whenever you called me ‘daddy’, Heere.”

 

“Yeah, well, now I can call you ‘Godfather’, Mell!” Jeremy stepped into the car.

 

Michael stared at him. Jeremy glared at him back.

 

They both couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit. Michael cracked first.

 

“But seriously-” Jeremy cut his laughter off with a cough. “Why did you never call?” His tone wasn’t as biting, but he was close to crying out a few years worth of separation.

 

“You think I would risk your life?” Michael asked.

 

“Why would you be risking my life, then?”

 

Michael sighed. He took Jeremy’s hand. 

 

“I’m Michael Mell. I have a major in Computer Science, an affinity for hacking, and I’m a puppet master in the underworld.”

 

Jeremy looked at him for any signs of joking. Michael’s eyes would dart down or he would start curling his fingers or he would mess with his hair. None of those fidgets were apparent.

 

“What do you do? And don’t sugarcoat it.”

 

“Remember Jenna? Jenna and I bust other people in the underworld and keep them in line. She’s an FBI agent. It’s symbiotic. Scratching each other’s back. A politician gone, a certain criminal group dead, and other stuff. It’s been like this since the second year of college.”

 

“And… at the very least, these are bad people? Like, lawbreakers?” That explained some of the closed contact. He imagined that kind of moonlighting would take up a lot of time.

 

“I promise and swear to God that I don’t hurt innocent people. With the Akumas, I thought I shut them down. Turns out there were survivors. Mistakes like that result in people like you-” he squeezed Jeremy’s hand tightly. His grip hurt a bit. He muttered an apology. “Getting hurt.”

 

“And you’ve been helping people? People who don’t deserve their bullshit?”

 

“I do everything I can to keep people appeased and save as many as possible. You need to understand that I’m in deep. My presence holds back dangerous people. No one knows who I am except for you, Jenna, and the one who introduced me to this life, a guy who goes by the name of Con. Despite that, I don’t regret it.”

 

“And I’m guessing that now you’ve told me this, three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead?” Jeremy scoffed.

 

“I should’ve realized that you could’ve heard something about me. People don’t know about me because of Jenna. Either way, not telling you was my fault. Jeremy, I’m so sorry. Honestly, I hate myself for lying to you and not talking to you. You should’ve known.”

 

“Because I was a liability who could’ve accidentally revealed your identity?” Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Why even use your old screen name?”

 

“It just stuck and I panicked when thinking of a name,” Michael admitted. “And you’re never a liability. You’ve never been one.”

 

“I see you ditched the Cruiser. Why’s that?” Jeremy didn’t bother with subtlety. He didn’t like how the conversation turned into pity territory.

 

“Eh. It started smelling. I decided to upgrade.”

 

Jeremy sat in silence, pondering over what he would say next. They stopped in front of an apartment building and the woman at the front give them a grand smile.

 

“Hi Kara.”

 

“Hi Mr. Mell. Is this a friend?” She asked.

 

“Yeah. We’re catching up.”

 

“Mr. Mell?” Jeremy raised an eyebrow. Michael shrugged. Kara chuckled.

 

They went to the top floor. Room 8-B. It was a nice little place. It was tidy and carpeted (except for the bathroom and kitchen, thank God), and he had a flat screen along with some soft looking velvet furniture.

 

“Sit down. Want anything to drink?”

 

“I’ll pour it myself.”

 

“I’m not going to poison you!” Michael shouted frustratedly and slapped his hands against his legs. Jeremy couldn’t help but laugh a little.

 

“Fine, I guess if you don’t kill me here, then I can trust you, after. No detriment for you either way unless you actually hate me and want me to suffer in some weird way,” Jeremy sighed. “Water in an iced cup, please?”

 

“Sure.”

 

He came back a few minutes later with a glass of red wine and the water. Jeremy stared Michael in the eyes as he downed it.

 

“Well, if I was dead, I would hope you wouldn’t make it painful for me, so… just catch me up for now, okay?” Jeremy sighed after a minute passed.

 

“I covered most of the stuff. I rip people’s secrets out of them and have some personal bodyguards that act as shadows. They’re very convenient. One was sitting at a nearby table and the other kept using the bathroom.

 

“Wait, the guy using the bathroom every few minutes was a bodyguard?” Jeremy squawked. Michael chuckled.

 

“Surprised you noticed.”

 

“How could I not? Sure, it wasn’t every minute, but I thought his bladder must’ve sucked.”

 

Michael laughed. He scooted closer to Jeremy. “Anything else you want to know about me?”

 

“Why did you even trust me? Like, why didn’t you even try denying it? With those bodyguards, you could probably just cut me out of your life. Literally. Like I said before, anyone can keep a secret if they’re dead. You could’ve just called me crazy and ridiculous,” Jeremy asked.

 

“I don’t want to hurt you. I didn’t want to hurt you. Simple as that. Besides, if I tried gaslighting you, wouldn’t that be more risky since someone like a police officer could listen and take you seriously? Like, my identity is mostly just myths and it precedes me, but there is some truth to it,” Michael explained. He wasn’t trying to sound mean or threatening.

 

“But I’m still… Look, I know I wouldn’t tell anyone your secret. Like, I still-” Jeremy cut himself off.

 

“Still what?”

 

“Nothing. Forget it. The point is that you didn’t know for sure that I would keep your secret. You don’t even know if I’m lying right now. I just don’t get how you can trust me when I could be catastrophic to your life.”

 

“Jeremy…”

 

“Do you have that much faith in me? It’s sweet, but… would you kill me if I tried exposing you?” Jeremy asked in a small voice. The glass in his hand seemed to get much colder.

 

“I would never want to kill you. I don’t think I could.”

 

Jeremy just gave him a sad grin. “Are you lying for my sake? Even if you said that you would kill me, I don’t think I’d be mad. It’s because I… I…”

 

“Hard to explain or embarrassing to say?” 

 

“Yes.”

 

“I’m all ears, Jere.”

 

“Michael, I never stopped loving you… dude,” he ended lamely. “I pined after you, wondering when you would come back to me and say that you wanted me back. I don’t think you like me like that anymore.”

 

Michael’s mouth made an ‘o’ shape. He scooted even closer to Jeremy and cupped his cheek. “I missed you, too. I think I’ve said that enough.”

 

“But how did you miss me?” Jeremy insisted.

 

“Well, I missed this.”

 

Michael pressed his lips on his. Jeremy returned the kiss. He felt like a dumbass teenager again. He was already one at heart, but that was a road trip down memory lane. He remembered the days where he would sit in Michael’s lap and just play video games and get high and fuck and date and… everything. He missed Michael’s innocent teasing and flirting. He missed Michael picking him up and throwing him onto the bed and then whispering how much he loved him. He missed so much and overall, he just missed his best friend turned boyfriend turned stranger. Jeremy was never livid with Michael. The Squip didn’t count.

 

The kiss felt a little wet. Must’ve just been their lips.

 

Michael put his hands on Jeremy’s shoulders and then cupped his cheeks. “I’ll do everything possible to make life easy for you. If you want to move in, then let’s do it. If you want to stay home, I’ll foot the bill. Trust me, I’m rich. I have so much to make up to you. You deserve it all. I’m busy, but I’ll make you feel special with the time we have.”

 

“I’m honestly surprised by how much faith you put into me. I should be thanking you. You let me save that guy’s life by putting me on your list. I’m sorry for getting angry and snippy.”

 

“Then can we agree to just forgive each other?” Michael asked.

 

Jeremy scooted into Michael’s lap and kissed his cheek. “All you have to do is to make sure you won’t leave me in the dark anymore. It never works out in superhero movies.”

 

“I’ll make you happy. I won’t lie to you. I should have no reason to,” Michael murmured.

 

“That includes lies of omission. Don’t get technical with me, Micah,” he didn’t use the nickname innocently. It was curt and had a hard ‘i’ sound.

 

“I haven’t heard that in years.” He grinned anyway.

 

“I haven’t said it in years… God, I miss you. I’m still a bit annoyed at how much time I spent without you. Even though you’re different, you’re still the same cool guy I fell in love with. So… thanks for not changing.”

 

“If you’re okay with picking up where we left off, then I’m okay, too. Now, tell me about everything that’s going on in your life.” Michael stared deep into Jeremy’s bright green eyes. He missed him so fucking much. At least the air was clear between them.

 

“Well, after we stopped talking, I guess that I got more into theatre. I’m in Waitress.”

 

“Oh, really? You’re young, though!”

 

“Yeah. Christine helped with connections. They liked me and let me in despite no prior experience.”

 

Michael listened and hung onto every word as Jeremy spilled everything that went on in his life. He missed just listening to him. Jeremy could talk a mile a minute and somehow Michael could still pick up on every word and react accordingly. At some point, he tightened his grip around Jeremy’s waist and lamented the time until the poison kicked in.

 

Jeremy kissed Michael’s lips and sighed. “Well, Mr. Hacker. I’m tired.”

 

“Want to go to bed then? I’ll hold you tight in my arms.”

 

“Sure, sure. I missed it when you came over to my house and I just slept on top of you. You always had soft skin.”

 

“Ew, weirdo.”

 

Jeremy laughed. He took Michael’s hand and then let go to strip down to his boxers.

 

“Oh, shit, you don’t mind, right?” Jeremy asked.

 

Michael shook his head while he threw off his suit. He ended up in his underwear, too, and Jeremy stared enviously and lustfully at his flat stomach and big stature.

 

“Holy shit, you’re hot.”

 

“Aww, you have a cwush on me? That’s kinda gay!” Michael poked Jeremy’s sides. He slapped his hands away.

 

“Whatever. I’ll just sleep alone, then.”

 

Michael laid down on the bed and opened his arms. Jeremy crawled on top of him and laid his head down on his chest. It felt so familiar.

 

“I love you.”

 

“Love you too, geek,” Michael whispered.

 

By the way, he was kidding about the poison. In the morning, Jeremy shifted and Michael grumbled in his sleep, his arms tight around Jeremy’s back. He loved his boyfriend to pieces, and he could never do that to him. Not after he trusted him after all those years.

 

When Michael woke up, Jeremy snored softly. His chest stung a little, but he kissed the top of his head and decided that letting Jeremy sleep would be a better idea. If they had still been dating, Michael would have screamed in his ear or pushed him off the bed, but things were different. He wasn’t super comfortable with teasing and messing around with him like in the old days.

 

Oh, that reminded him. He had some demons to wrestle and squash.

 

He put on his glasses, grabbed his phone, and sent out a quick message to his favorite assassin, Cratz.

 

‘Optional Meeting in Montclair. You interested?’

 

Not even a minute later.

 

‘Sure. Where?’

 

‘Adrien’s building.’

 

‘Thought it was wrecked.’

 

‘Nah. It just got moved. His people, that is.’

 

‘K.’

 

Michael looked back to see Jeremy staring up at him. He was pretty good at controlling his facial reactions, so he just gave him a blank look. He sat up and brought his not-so-ex-boyfriend up, too.

 

“I’m not going to pry into your mafia business.”

 

“I’m not a Godfather, Jeremy.”

 

Jeremy snorted. He sighed against Michael’s ear and shut his crusty eyes for a few seconds. “I’m glad we’re together.”

 

“Me too. I love you,” Michael grinned. God, Jeremy really melted away every guard he put up, didn’t he? Michael couldn’t remember ever feeling so elated. He silently promised to protect Jeremy and to lay waste to anyone who would ever think of hurting him.

 

“I love you, too. Any anger or resentment or fear I felt just disappeared. Well, besides the Akumas, but that’s not something you can fix. Internal problems. Ah, shit, that sounded edgy. Sorry.”

 

“Don’t apologize,” he mumbled the command. “If something is bothering you, talk. My secretary, Nicole, is a therapist, too.”

 

“No, it is something that I can talk about with y-” Jeremy narrowed his eyes. “Michael.”

 

“Yes, love?” He wondered why Jeremy was giving him a suspicious look.

 

“I don’t want you hunting people that hurt me all the time.”

 

“Okay, I was supposed to get rid of them before you came back into my life.”

 

Jeremy glared at him. “You promise that it was before my encounter?”

 

“I swear to God. I’m more motivated because they could have killed you, but I wouldn’t send hit men after people who hurt you-”

 

“Liar. You totally would. Even without you looking down when you said that, I would’ve known you lied. You care too much.”

 

“Jeremy, if someone assaulted you, there is no way in Hell that I’ll let it slide. You’re my favorite person, remember?” Michael kissed his neck.

 

“I know that you care about me. I just don’t want you to be found out over some petty criminal. Wait, wouldn’t dating me give away your identity, too?” Jeremy realized.

 

“Nah. I have multiple people scattered across the country on the No-Hit list. If anyone suspected anything, there are false trails and stuff. I wouldn’t be successful if I didn’t plan for everything,” Michael murmured. “You have nothing to worry about.”

 

“If I have nothing to worry about, are you going to torture a bodyguard by assigning him or her to me?” Jeremy raised an eyebrow.

 

Michael went silent at that. Jeremy rolled his eyes so hard that they hurt.

 

“I’m not a kid.”

 

“You’re not,” Michael agreed.

 

“Michael, you’re offering me too much. I’m not giving anything in return!” Jeremy scoffed. “At least, nothing that’s as valuable!"

 

“Jeremy, I have not laughed or smiled with anyone as much as I have with you.”

 

“Same with me, genius! Michael, you’re not my sugar daddy. I have nothing substantial to offer you! I’m not rich. I’m not helpful to your organization. I’m a risk and someone who can be used against you. I know you love me, but you can’t give me the whole world when I can’t return it.” Jeremy grabbed his arm gently. “It’s a nice dream, thinking that I’m giving as much as you are, but now it’s morning and it’s time for the black coffee.”

 

“Who said that you had to offer anything substantial? Who said that you are a risk? Who said that I can’t give you the world?” Michael asked. “Jeremy, do you love me unconditionally?”

 

“Yes, but there’s so much-”

 

“You’re doing enough.”

 

“You’re doing far more than enough.”

 

Michael sighed in defeat. “Okay. I won’t do that to you.”

 

“If you assign a shadow, I will know,” Jeremy warned him.

 

“Unfortunately, I do know.”

 

Jeremy smiled and pulled a piece of hair out of Michael’s face. “You’re sweet, but until the less than one percent chance bad thing happens, I’m not asking for a bodyguard.”

 

“But I don’t want to risk your safety,” Michael groaned.

 

“Those who give up liberty for a little bit of safety deserve neither liberty or safety. Benjamin Franklin,” Jeremy replied with a knowing smile on his face.

 

Michael kissed Jeremy’s forehead. “Just… don’t do anything dangerous. At the very least, I’m having someone pick you up and drive you to rehearsals.”

 

“I can live with that. Also, Michael, another important thing; I’ll tell your bodyguard if I need or want a ride. Sometimes, I’ll need to make stops or I’ll want to just walk or go out with friends.”

 

Michael sighed again and stood up. Jeremy did so, too.

 

“Alright. At least try to text me whenever you go out? I’m just worried about the non-zero chance of people linking you to me.”

 

“I’ll try to remember,” Jeremy promised.

 

Michael felt disgusting. “I need to shower. You can wait or…”

 

“I’ll join you. I’m too tired for sex, though. My libido finally crashed a bit after college ended. That is to say, it’s not as bad,” Jeremy shrugged. “I’m delirious.”

 

“Thanks for telling me that, Jeremy. That brain space will be forever taken up,” Michael deadpanned. Jeremy laughed and went inside the shower. Michael followed him, a content smile on his face.

 

God, he missed his headstrong man so much.


End file.
